Amnesty International: “Failed leadership has gone global in the last year”

Amnesty International has released its annual report in human rights situation in various countries.

“The courage shown by protesters in the past 12 months has been matched by a failure of leadership that makes the UN Security Council seem tired, out of step and increasingly unfit for purpose, Amnesty International said as it launched its 50^thglobal human rights report with a call for a strong global Arms Trade Treaty later this year”, the report says which can be found on the official web-site of Amnesty International.

“Failed leadership has gone global in the last year, with politicians responding to protests with brutality or indifference. Governments must show legitimate leadership and reject injustice by protecting the powerless and restraining the powerful. It is time to put people before corporations and rights before profits,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty International Secretary General.

The vocal and enthusiastic support for the protest movements shown by many global and regional powers in the early months of 2011, has not translated into action. As Egyptians go to the polls to vote for a new president, it looks increasingly as if the opportunities for change created by the protesters are being squandered.

“In the last year it has all too often become clear that opportunistic alliances and financial interests have trumped human rights as global powers jockey for influence in the Middle East andNorth Africa,” said Salil Shetty. 

“The language of human rights is adopted when it serves political or corporate agendas, and shelved

when inconvenient or standing in the way of profit.”

Amnesty International Report 2012 documents specific restrictions on free speech in at least 91 countries as well as cases of people tortured or otherwise ill-treated in at least 101 countries – in many cases for taking part in demonstrations.

According to the report there was no sign of significant change in countries such asTurkmenistanandUzbekistan. This year’s Eurovision Song Contest host,Azerbaijan, suppressed freedom of expression and 16 prisoners of conscience are still behind bars for raising their voices in 2011.

The report refers toArmeniaas well. According to it the obstacle of meetings in the center of capital is removed and it is a positive change. But there are also problems concerning the human rights protection such as the tortures of the jailed people and so on. The article refers to all points of the issue in details.